For centuries, decorators have employed cornices to cover up window hardware including drapery and curtain rods and support brackets. These cornices are designed to be attached to the wall adjacent the window and to extend at the top of the window from one side of the window to the other so that the drapery and curtain hardware is completely concealed. These prior cornices have been comprised of wood, metal or cloth, or a combination of these materials, as desired by the decorator.
The decorator usually chooses the appropriate cornice by examining the entire decor of the room, including the furniture, wall coverings and window dressings to be employed, as well as the scenery visible from the window. The cornice colors and design is selected to blend in with the other decorative features of the room to present an overall esthetic design.
The prior cornice assemblies are fixedly attached to the wall adjacent the window such that the cornice design cannot be modified without taking down the cornice structure. Therefore, once the prior cornices have been selected and installed, the design of the cornices or any designs on the exterior faces of the cornices cannot be modified without removing the entire cornice. This is obviously an extensive remodeling project.
This is a problem with the prior cornice assemblies as, at times, the person for whom the room is decorated may not like the cornice shape, design and/or color after it has been installed because it does not match the room decor as thought. Also, often a room decor may be changed including the wall covering or color, substitution of different furniture, etc. When the prior cornice assemblies are employed, the cornices cannot be modified to match the new decor without taking down the entire cornices and putting up substitute cornices. Not only does this take time and money, rendering any re-decoration more expensive, it may also deteriorate the wall space adjacent the windows to which the cornices are attached.
Thus, the prior cornice assemblies present the problem that the decorative effect of the cornice cannot be modified without removing the entire cornice, at a relatively high expense and consumption of time. This increases the cost of remodeling a room, since the cost of entire cornices must be included within the remodeling costs.
Moreover, if the cornice is not esthetically pleasing once it has been put in place, the cornice cannot be modified in place but must be entirely removed and replaced by a new cornice. Thus, extreme care and caution must be employed in choosing a cornice. Also, these prior cornice assemblies are hard to install, often needing skilled labor to perform the installation. Since the prior cornices are often made of a stiff material, they may be hard to maneuver in place and difficult to attach to a wall.
It has also been known to have combination drapery, curtain and/or valance hardware so that the same brackets and rods may support all the window coverings for a particular window. However, these assemblies are hard to install and are relatively complex. Moreover, none of the known prior assemblies includes a cornice for concealing the hardware. Examples of these prior hardware assemblies are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 969,543; 1,636,601; 2,681,697; 2,752,117 and 3,788,376.
It is apparent from the foregoing that there is a need in the art for a cornice assembly which provides for a changeable design and which also supports drapery hardware. This invention fulfills this need in the art along with other needs apparent to those skilled in this art once given the following disclosure:
Generally speaking, this invention provides a cornice assembly comprising means for supporting the assembly, the supporting means being attachable to a wall, a spring-loaded roller cartridge, an elongated decorative cover having first and second ends, the first end being attached to the roller cartridge such that the cover may be rolled up around the cartridge, and at least one fastening member attached to the cover proximate the second end, wherein the supporting means includes means for rotatably receiving and engaging the cartridge, the supporting means further including means for engaging the fastening member.
In some embodiments of this invention, the supporting means includes first and second spaced terminals wherein the first terminal includes the receiving means and the second terminal includes the engaging means. Dividers may be provided for spacing the first and second terminals apart and to stabilize the assembly. The dividers may be rods which extend between portions of the first and second terminals and are attached on their respective ends to the terminals.
In further embodiments, the terminals may include shade receiving slots and a bracket located in the slots to rotatably engage a window shade and to guide the shade as it is lowered and raised. The shade may be housed within the cornice assembly by being attached to these brackets.
The spring-loaded cartridge may be received by the first terminal such that the spring-loaded cartridge is in a substantially vertical position. When so positioned, the cover can be unwound from the cartridge and pulled horizontally around the cornice terminals.
In some embodiments, the terminals may include a back face which is in abutment with the wall, a side face which extends outwardly from the wall back, and a front face which is located opposite the back face. The spring-loaded cartridge may be rotatably attached to the back corner between the back and side faces of the first cornice terminal. The cover engaging means may be located at the corner of the back and side faces of the second cornice terminal. In these embodiments, when the cover is fully withdrawn from the cartridge and attached to the second terminal, the cover will extend around the side face of the first terminal, the front face of the first terminal, between the first and second terminals, along the front fact of the second terminal and along the side face of the second terminal. Therefore in fact, the entire cornice assembly will be covered up by the tapestry cover.
This invention overcomes the problems of the prior art as discussed above by providing a cornice assembly wherein the exterior design of the cornice can be readily changed as desired. This gives a designer great flexibility when planning a room since many different cornice covers can be viewed in place before the final cornice cover is chosen. Also, the cornice cover can be easily changed if the room is remodeled at a later date. Moreover, the cornice covers are easy to install and, in fact, the entire cornice assembly can be installed by unskilled labor.
Therefore, it is a clear object of this invention to provide a cornice assembly with a changeable cornice cover so that the exterior design of the cornice can be readily modified if one is unhappy with the design of the cornice or if a room is remodeled such that the existing cornice does not match the new room decor.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a cornice assembly wherein the cornice cover can be changed so that one can redecorate a room by switching the cornice cover as desired.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a cornice assembly which is easy to install.
A further object of this invention is to provide a cornice assembly which is relatively inexpensive to install initially and to modify as desired.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a cornice assembly which supports a shade which may be drawn in front of the window.
One embodiment of this invention is illustrated in the attached drawings, wherein: